Investigating the role of enterprises in wash service delivery for the poor

ISF Research Team

Juliet Willetts is a Professor and Research Director at ISF. Juliet specialises in interdisciplinary, collaborative research and evaluation to influence policy and practice. She leads research, consultancy and evaluation for DFAT, bilateral and multilateral agencies and NGOs. Juliet is a recognised expert in the WASH sector and works across broader areas of gender equality, civil society role in development, governance, climate change adaptation, monitoring, evaluation and aid effectiveness. Juliet was recently recognised by a UTS Human Rights award (2012) and as a finalist for UTS Chancellors Medal for Exceptional Research (2012).

Anna Gero is a Senior Research Consultant at the Institute for Sustainable Futures and has spent the past 6 years working and researching in the international development sector. Her work has primarily focused on the Pacific and south-east Asian regions on issues relating to aid effectiveness, water and sanitation and the integration of climate change adaptation and disaster risk management. With a strong environmental and social science background, Anna’s collaborative approach reflects her commitment to ensuring her research informs good policy and practice.

Naomi Carrard is a Research Principal at ISF, specialising in applied research to inform policy and practice in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), with a primary focus on the Asia and Pacific regions. Naomi has qualifications in Environmental Law and Geography, and more than 10 years’ experience working in WASH, water resource management and development effectiveness. Since joining ISF in 2006, she has undertaken research in areas of WASH policy and programming, gender equality, civil society role in development, urban infrastructure and climate change adaptation.

Janina Murta is a Research Consultant at ISF with 7 years’ experience in research and environmental consultancy. With a background in environmental engineering and a master’s degree in integrated water management, she is able to contribute with both strong technical and qualitative research skills often required when investigating complex cross-disciplinary societal challenges. Janina has a special interest in sustainable models of WASH service delivery. This interest goes back to the time when, as part of her Master’s final research project, she worked with the AusAID Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Program in Timor-Leste, investigating governance and sustainability issues of community management of rural water supply systems.

Melita Grant is a Senior Research Consultant specialising in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in international development at the Institute for Sustainable Futures. As an experienced practitioner and adviser, Melita has worked for over 15 years in government and not-for-profit organisations. She has extensive technical and policy experience in water governance, WASH, water conservation and integrated water management. Melita has an academic background in political science, political economy and environmental management. She also recently worked for Oxfam Australia managing community engagement and food security advocacy programs, including designing, implementing and evaluating stakeholder and community engagement initiatives.

Tim Foster is a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellow at ISF, where he is investigating the role of enterprise in sustainable rural water service delivery in Asia and Africa. He has a doctorate from the University of Oxford, which examined the links between collective action and the financial sustainability of community-managed water supplies on the South Coast of Kenya. Tim has been involved in both the implementation and evaluation of rural WASH programmes across Asia and Africa, and was previously a Technical Advisor for the South Sudan Guinea Worm Eradication Programme.

Caitlin Leahy joined ISF in 2016, bringing 9 years of experience in international development and participatory research and evaluation in cross-cultural contexts, particularly in Australia and Timor-Leste. Caitlin has worked with NGOs in Australia, India, Cambodia, Vietnam and Timor-Leste and has held research positions at La Trobe University in Melbourne and the University of Technology in Sydney. Caitlin has a specific interest in gender equality in WASH. She is leading research to investigate the role of female entrepreneurs in WASH-related enterprises in Cambodia and Indonesia and prior to this, Caitlin undertook research which examined the role of WASH interventions on the achievement of strategic gender outcomes in Vietnam.

About ISF
ISF is a university research institute that creates change towards sustainable futures by conducting independent project based research for Australian and international clients. We work on projects across a range of research areas using a variety of approaches. These projects foster lasting change and we aim to build independent capacity in our clients by passing on knowledge and skills. We focus on innovation and our research often extends sustainability practice and contributes to current thinking. Our clients are in government, industry and community organisations.

See our website for details of the exciting work we do. Along with our WASH work our international development work covers areas including monitoring and evaluation, development effectiveness, climate change adaptation, urban planning and energy policy.

Partners

Plan was founded in 1937 and since then, Plan has grown into one of the world’s largest children’s development organisations, reaching more than 56 million children. Plan is the CSO partner in Indonesia, providing input to foundation phase research and political economy analysis, participating in Targeted Studies 1 (“Value chain analysis in low density settings”) and 2 (“Motivators, drivers and barriers to entry”) and contributing to translation activities. ISF will work with both Australian-based program managers and the Plan Indonesia team. The research will also engage with Plan Vietnam and Plan Timor-Leste while undertaking case study research, sharing findings and implications and seeking input from Plan’s Vietnam and Timor-Leste experiences.

SNV is an international not-for-profit development organisation founded in the Netherlands nearly 50 years ago. SNV is the CSO partner in North Vietnam, providing input to foundation phase research and political economy analysis, participating in Targeted Studies 1 and 2 and contributing to translation activities. Targeted Study 1 (Value Chain Analysis in Low Density Settings) will build on work initiated by SNV during the first AusAID Civil Society WASH Fund (2010-2012). In addition to working closely with the Vietnam team, ISF will engage with SNV’s regional program manager (who leads SNV knowledge and learning activities).

East Meets West creates sustainable and catalytic solutions to difficult development problems. EMWF is the CSO partner in South Vietnam, providing input to foundation phase research and political economy analysis, participating in Targeted Studies 2 and 3 (“Viability and Equity Outcomes of Private Sector Water Operators”) and contributing to translation activities. Targeted Study 3 will involve an in-depth retrospective analysis of EMWF activities 4-5 years post-implementation.

WaterAid is an international non-government organisation, whose mission is transform lives by improving access to safe water, hygiene, and sanitation in the world’s poorest communities. WaterAid is the CSO partner in Timor-Leste (across 2 districts) and will provide input to foundation phase research and political economy analysis, participating in Targeted Study 2 (Motivators, Drivers and Barriers to Entry) and contributing to translation activities.

Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) is an Indonesian public research university located in Yogyakarta, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It was officially founded on 19 December 1949, three years after the first lecture was given on 13 March 1946. ISF will be working with counterparts within the Faculty of Economics and Business, more specifically with the P2EB unit (Penelitian dan Pelatihan Ekonomika dan Bisinis).

National University of Timor-Leste (UNTL)

The National University of East Timor (Portuguese: Universidade Nacional Timor Lorosa’e; Tetum: Universidade Nasionál Timór Lorosa’e), based in the East Timorese capital Dili, is the major institution of higher education in East Timor. ISF is in the process of establishing a partnership with UNTL and looks forward to working closely with researchers in Timor Leste.

The Centre for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (CRES) was established in 1995. CRES’s mandate includes conducting multi- and inter-disciplinary research on biodiversity and environmental issues for decision making and sustainable development; and to promote networking, partnership and linkages through enhanced cooperation among VNU’s related institutions as well as with other national and international institutions and communities.

The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) is the UK’s leading independent think tank on international development and humanitarian issues. ODI’s mission is to inspire and inform policy and practice which lead to the reduction of poverty, the alleviation of suffering and the achievement of sustainable livelihoods in developing countries. ODI does this by locking together high quality applied research, practical policy advice, and policy-focused dissemination and debate. ODI works with partners in the public and private sectors, in both developing and developed countries.

Research funder

THE RESEARCH HAS BEEN FUNDED BY THE AUSTRALIAN DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH AWARDS SCHEME, AN AUSTRALIAN AID INITIATIVE, UNDER AN AWARD TITLED “CIVIL SOCIETY SUPPORT FOR WATER AND SANITATION SERVICES FOR THE POOR*

* The views expressed in the publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the Commonwealth of Australia. The Commonwealth of Australia accepts no responsibility for any loss, damage or injury resulting from reliance on any of the information or views contained in this publication